Last Chance
by Yoru Asahi
Summary: Wedding day. The happiest day of a woman's life. What to do when your high school sweetheart appears decided to tell you everything you dreamt about....just before the cerimony?


A/N: The only thing that can explain this one is a lot of movies e nothing to do.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Yet. I'm still making my plans, so who knows?

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Her heart was thumping as she looked at herself in the mirror. She felt as if she was looking at someone else. Her skin was pale, and her big deep blue eyes gave her an innocent aura. Her long black hair had been brushed and fell gracefully down her back. All of that was normal. All was familiar. What wasn't familiar was the long, beautiful white dress, and that frightened look in her eyes. She hated feeling frightened. She hated feeling powerless.

_"This was supposed to be my life's greatest days."_ Marriage. She was actually going to be married in less than half an hour. And she had never felt so terrified in her life.

Sure, people said that it was normal to be scared. That it would pass once she was at the altar. But she just knew that it was _wrong._ It didn't felt right. Enishi had been her boyfriend for over 2 years before he proposed, and she really loved him, she really did. But not like that. At least not anymore. But still, when he proposed, she had been unable to say "no". And now it was too late to do anything about it.

She could hear the chatter of her friends and family around her, and she couldn't even bring herself to look interested in what they were talking about. So, when there was a sudden silence, she forced herself to look away from the mirror… and into the deep violet eyes of the one person she hadn't thought she would see again.

"Kenshin?" Her voice was slightly shaky, as she tried to understand.

He looked beautiful. He always did. And he looked exactly like he did last time she saw him. The same long, blood red hair tied in a loose ponytail. The same elegant, almost feminine, face. The same large, gentle violet eyes that seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. The only difference was the tuxedo he was wearing, that seemed to have seen better days, and it still made him look even more gorgeous.

"Kaoru." He said softly, sounding breathless as a small smile curved the corner of his lips.

"My, my, Kenshin! Long time no see!" Misao said with a knowing grin.

"I was… I was wondering if I could speak to you, Kaoru." He said, suddenly looking nervous. When nobody moved, he gave a sigh "Alone, that is."

"Oh, sure… Misao, guys, please…" She managed to say, trying to ignore her friend's grin. She was not going to murder her maid of honor on her wedding day. She would never have enough time to find another. The others stood up and walked away, all sending distrusting glances on her and on Kenshin's way. _"Oh, for Pete's sake, what could I do in thirty minutes? Ravish him on that couch? Although that doesn't sound like a bad idea… Bad Kaoru, bad Kaoru!! You are going to get married!! You should NOT be thinking about having sex with guys you haven't seen since last day in high school!! Okay, I guess I see now what I could do in thirty minutes that could ruin everything… Focus!!" _

He closed the door behind them and walked to her, stopping in front of her. He seemed to be at loss, looking down so his hair would hide his eyes. She couldn't be that much better either.

"Kenshin, I missed you! Where have you been?" Oh, great. Small talk. Sometimes she wished she could go back in time and stop herself from saying stuff like that. "I mean, how did you find me?"

"Actually… I saw… your fiancée last night." He smiled lightly before looking up, in her eyes. "He couldn't lose the chance to tell me he was going to get married today. With you."

"Enishi and you were never really friendly to each other… I forgot that." She managed to say, smiling slightly. "But how did you know where it was? I mean, he would never invite you…"

"Not consciously." He agreed, with a chuckle. "All it took was for me to wait until he drank a little bit too much, when he started to make fun of me, like saying that I had nobody, and that he had you, and how he would love to rub it in my nose, so why I didn't came here to see while he married you?"

"Oh god. I don't believe he invited you." She said, giggling for the first time ever since the proposal. "I mean… It's you! He hates you!"

"I guess that's why he turned white when he saw me walking inside." He said, laughing openly. "I managed to come here before he could find somebody to kick me off." He looked serious for a moment. Oh no. She hated when he was serious. That was how all that mess started.

He approached her, getting closer… and she didn't want to pull away. Things she thought she had buried deep within her a long time ago came rushing back. She suddenly remember all to clearly how it felt to kiss him… how it felt to run her hands through his hair… how it was good to hear him laugh, how good it was to see him smiling at her, his eyes glinting. A more rational part of her mind was screaming at her, reminding her she was going to get married, but she still couldn't pull away. Her eyes slid shut, her lips parting slightly.

"I never forgot you, Kaoru." He whispered softly. Her eyes snapped open in shock as his words sank in. "I tried. Damn, through all these years I tried, and I thought I had. But last night, when Enishi said he was going to marry you… Everything came back. I couldn't let you marry him without knowing how I felt."

She was speechless. How many times she had dreamed about him saying that to her? She had ruined everything in fear of commitment. She had been stupid and too prideful to ask for forgiveness, and when she finally got the guts to say she was sorry… He started to date Tomoe, Enishi's sister, who just happened to be one of her best friends at the time. They didn't last long, but then her courage was gone and she was trying to forget him.

And now, on her wedding day, he appeared from nowhere and said all those things. She opened her mouth, but couldn't find anything to say. And, before she could, he kissed her. For a moment, she didn't respond. She was too shocked to do anything. But her body took control, and suddenly, her eyes were closed, her hands were running through his hair, her lips had parted, allowing him to deepen the kiss. A soft moan escaped her lips as he explored her mouth.

They parted, panting slightly. His eyes were filled with emotions she was afraid of naming. He rested his forehead against hers, a small hopeful smile appearing in his face. She almost wanted to kick herself.

"Kenshin…" She started, her heart beating ten times faster than before. "I…I can't."

"You can't… or you don't want to?" He asked, sounding pained.

As an answer, she kissed him again, her lips brushing softly against his before she pulled away.

"I want to. I don't even can believe on how much I want it after so long, but…"

"No…no but. Buts aren't good. They never end well." He whispered, trying to make the situation lighter. Too bad she saw right through it.

"But…I can't do this now. It's too late… I'm getting married today… there is nothing I can do to stop it."

"Do you want to get married to Enishi?" She hated when he knew just what to ask.

"Well…"

"Seriously, Kaoru. Do you want to get married to Enishi? If you do… say, and I'll never bother you again." She didn't want him to go. Those years had been painful, and she could never deny that. How many times she dreamt about him, how many times she woke feeling empty and had to hide it from everybody. She missed him, he understanded her better than anybody else, he could read right through her...

"No. I don't love him… I don't want to get married to him…" No point in denying it from the one person that already knew it from the beginning.

A knock on the door made them jump away from each other immediately, and as the door opened, she felt a light blush rise to her cheeks.

"Kaoru?" Misao peeked into the room, almost as if she thought she was interrupting something more than a talk… which was true. "It's…it's time."

"Okay, I'm going…" Kaoru felt like she was going to her doom. "Just one more sec, okay?"

With another grin, Misao closed the door behind her. _"The weasel knows too much"_ she thought, distracted, before looking at the redhead again. Who, at that point, was already too close. Really, what was with him and personal contact? Couldn't he do a little better than a kiss? _"Bad, bad Kaoru! Stop thinking about him wearing nothing but a red ribbon around his neck."_ But then again, she hadn't really thought about that…and those thoughts really didn't help now….

"If you don't want to marry him….then don't." His voice brought her back to reality and out of her fantasies.

"I…I can't. Everything is already decided. It is now. There is nothing I can do to stop this…" Slowly she walked to the door, feeling even worse than before. _"Better in the altar? Hah."_

"Kaoru…don't…please…" He knew just how to make the cutest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. It was so unfair.

"I can't, Kenshin. They are waiting for me." She hated how her voice sounded shaky.

He walked fast to her, and before she could open the door, he stopped her, standing between her and the door.

"Then come with me, Kaoru."

"What?"

"Let's get away from this place, we'll ask for Misao to cover us. We'll be far before he can do anything about it." He sounded hopeful again. Gods, she hated how she was also feeling more hopeful.

"I think you hit your head, or something." She muttered in response, trying not to smile.

"I lost you once. I'm not losing you again." Once again he was serious as he looked at her, his eyes shining slightly. Fear, hope… everything was painfully clear in his violet eyes.

"I can't just leave him in the altar and run away… It's… I mean, it's like a movie, or something…" She started, but wasn't able to continue. She wanted to run away. She wanted to be with Kenshin, not with Enishi. "But….everything I have…. My friends…."

"We'll send them a letter or something later." He was smiling. He knew her too well. She nodded, grinning lightly. _"You only live once, right?"_

He opened the door, to find a grinning Misao waiting for them.

"And…? You two take too long!!" Misao complained, sounding annoyed.

"Misao, I…need a favor. Actually, we need a favor."

"I think I know where this is going" The girl answered, her eyes glinting.

"We are going away. Could you cover us?" Kenshin asked, casually, one arm hugging Kaoru closer to him.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru protested, but the smile she had on was impossible to hide.

"You can count on me! Get going, and send me a message when you two get…wherever it is you are going. And I want to be the maid of honor of that wedding too, got it, Kaoru?!" Misao said, winking, before rushing through the hallway.

The redhead guided her the other way, and she could feel the blush in her face. Wedding?! She was just running away from one… and Misao was already planning another?

"Don't worry about the weasel, she always say things like that." He said softly, as they reached the streets.

"I know, is just that….wedding. We haven't seen each other in years, and…."

"I know" He answered, simply. "We better go faster if we want to be far from this place when they start to search for us."

"You have no car?" She found herself asking, looking at him in surprise.

"I came running. Didn't plan on staying long, so I thought I wouldn't need it."

"You should have planned ahead, you know?"

"Come on, I didn't even know if I would talk to you!"

They walked fast and in silence for a while. It was a good silence. They weren't quiet for lack of subject, but because there was no need for words. And, as Kenshin called a cab that was passing, she watched him feeling happier than she thought she could be in a long time.

"So…are you sure?" He asked suddenly, as they opened the cab door.

"About what? Running away?" She adjusted the dress, with a sigh. "I think it's a bit late for that, hm?"

"No…" He trailed off, a small grin appearing on his lips. "That marriage is such a bad idea like that."

It took a moment for Kaoru to understand what he was hinting at, and she smiled as she looked at him.

"Not sure…We can talk about it later, perhaps."

She heard him chuckle lightly as she entered the cab, ignoring the strange look the driver gave her when he saw her wedding dress. _"Things are about to be really interesting."_


End file.
